


Title to be added later

by CanineR7A7



Series: IronWitch [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Arc Reactor Issues, But they're not the main focus, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Howard Stark was abusive, Hurt/Comfort, Only Natasha knows what the arc reactor is for, Other, Protective Tony Stark, Protective Wanda Maximoff, The others are there, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony didn't kill Wanda's parents, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 18:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14219001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanineR7A7/pseuds/CanineR7A7
Summary: Wanda knew that joining the Avengers meant living with the man she hated most. What she didn't know was that she would start caring about him.





	Title to be added later

Wanda gazed at the city skyline; she didn’t need anyone to tell her what day it was – the anniversary of your parents’ deaths was hard to forget after all, the only difference this time was that her brother wasn’t with her. She turned when she heard the door to the roof open, anger briefly taking over when Stark walked out.

“What is it Stark?” She bit out; she certainly hadn’t forgotten that it was his name on the missile that killed them. She was mildly surprised when no reply came – she glanced at his face and noticed he was staring at some spot in the distance, although whether he was actually seeing anything was another matter entirely.

“Natasha was wondering where you were.” She didn’t believe for a second that he had come looking for her simply because the spy wanted to see her, she wouldn’t say anything about it though, she didn’t care about his actual reason. She expected him to leave then, to go off to where-ever he disappeared to when he wasn’t with the others; but he didn’t, he walked closer and stood beside her – close enough that he could hold a conversation if one was started, but far enough that physical contact wouldn’t reach either of them.

“I take it you know what today is?” He phrased it as a question but she knew he wasn’t asking anything. She looked at him again and noticed that his stance was very different from what she was used to – his shoulders curled forward and his head was tilted as if to avoid eye-contact, very different than his usual egotistical nature.

“How could I forget?” She wanted her tone to be harsh, wanted to see the same mix of fear and guilt that she’d seen on his face during the Ultron incident; but instead, the unshed tears leaked into her voice. He nodded and raised his eyes to meet hers, she was surprised by the guilt and self-hatred she saw and felt a strange need to prove him wrong.

“I’m sorry.” He murmured, voice sounding as if someone had rubbed sandpaper against his throat. He walked away then, halting at the door as if he wanted to say something but he simply shook his head and walked off.

* * *

 

She found herself sitting with Natasha the next day, the woman hadn’t said anything yet and Wanda was starting to find the eye-contact uncomfortable.

“Where were you yesterday?” The woman eventually asked, Wanda knew she didn’t have to answer but Natasha was one of the few people she felt she could trust.

“I was on the roof; I didn’t want to speak to anyone.” Natasha hummed in thought at her answer, Wanda didn’t know what the spy was after but she wished the other woman would just get to the point already.

“I heard Tony went looking for you.” And here we go, Wanda thought to herself, it seemed everything led back to him lately and she wasn’t entirely sure that she minded.

“Yes, because you wanted to see me.” Confusion overtook the spy’s face for a few moments, didn’t she know Tony had gone to see her.

“No, I knew what that day meant to you. Tony really said that was why he went to find you?” Wanda nodded and watched as Natasha shook her head, a barely perceptible smile on her face.

“That man I swear.” Wanda didn’t know where this was going, and didn’t know whether she wanted to find out. Natasha’s features settled into a thoughtful frown before she stood up.

“Do you recognise the name Obadiah Stane?” Wanda shook her head; she’d only heard the name in passing and knew that it wasn’t something to say in Stark’s presence. Natasha motioned for Wanda to follow her; she led her to the room holding copies of the Avenger’s files.

“We have to keep paper copies of the files because Tony keeps deleting information from the computerised ones.” Natasha explained, Wanda added that to the list of things to ask about, she watched as the spy glanced over a few files before pulling Tony’s from the draw.

“Only read the section on Stane.” Something in Wanda’s mind wanted to ignore the advice, wanted to find out everything she possibly could about her parents’ killer; but she nodded and watched as Natasha left the room. Wanda read through the information and was surprised at what she found; the man who was a father figure to Stark had sold weapons behind his back, attempted to stage his death, tried to remove him from his own company before almost killing him the second and third times. One thing stood out from the rest and Wanda felt ashamed of herself when she realised it.

“Stark didn’t kill them.” She put the folder back and walked out the room, mildly surprised when she saw Tony standing next to the door. She looked at his face and saw understanding in his expression; he knew, he knew she’d read his file – she wanted to tell him that she didn’t read all of it but something told her he already knew.

“I’m sorry.” He murmured before she could say anything, that seriously confused her, why was he apologising? He hadn’t done anything? Realisation collided with her harshly, that was why he was sorry, he hadn’t stopped it. She watched as he walked off and she suddenly felt angry at herself for blaming someone who was already blaming himself.

* * *

 

The next time Wanda saw Tony, he was in the middle of a shouting match with Steve, she went to leave, not wanting to deal with the captain attempting to get her to side with him.

“-Big man in a suit of armour, take that away and what are you?” Wanda felt her breathing falter, she could tell they’d had this argument before but it was clear that the comment still hurt Tony, whether or not he allowed it to show; she didn’t hear Stark’s reply, too caught up in her own thoughts.

“For once take that thing off; you don’t need to be armed all the time.” Wanda watched in slow motion as the captain pulled the reactor from the man’s chest. The effect was instant – Tony immediately grabbed his chest, eyes widening when they realised the hole in his chest was exposed. Wanda didn’t know how she got over there, Tony’s head resting on her lap while his face grew pale – Steve had yet to let go of the device in his hand. Wanda watched as Natasha came charging into the room, knocking the devise from his hand and catching it before it could fall – she handed it to Wanda and the younger woman immediately put it back where it belonged. She blocked out the new shouting match, attention focused on Tony who was trying to curl into himself.

“What happened?” She asked, running her fingers through his sweat-soaked hair. The man coughed before replying.

“Cap decided to pull out my life support.” The comment was meant to be a joke but Wanda found herself plunged into a memory, desert sand, an explosion and a car battery. She pieced it together easily enough and found herself wondering how the captain didn’t know. She startled when a hand landed on her shoulder.

“Get him out of here.” Natasha murmured, only loud enough for Wanda to hear. She stood, slowly helping Tony to his feet, not entirely surprised when the man ended up slumped against her.

* * *

 

It was during the next mission that Wanda saw the villain-of-the-day throw the Iron Man through a wall, judging by the speed it was possible that he’d smashed through the building.

“Damn it, someone get Stark.” Rogers barked into the coms, Wanda felt irritation spark for a second – not at Tony, but the man who was clearly still sour about their argument – it was clear he still didn’t understand what he’d done wrong. Wanda headed over to the building and immediately spotted a large pile of rubble half-covering Tony. She watched as the lights in his mask flickered.

“What hit me?” Wanda felt herself laughing, the man didn’t seem to care that he could’ve been killed, as soon as he spotted her it was as if he was purposefully trying to make her laugh; if the very comedic attempt to lift up the rubble, followed by an exaggerated shrug (she didn’t know that was possible in the suit) was anything to go by. She helped him lift the rubble and watched as he climbed to his feet.

“Another time Miss Maximoff.” He stated with an exaggerated bow.

“I’ll be waiting Mr Stark.” She replied, trying not to smile but failing. She pointedly ignored Natasha’s knowing looks for the next week.

* * *

 

She woke up with a scream one night, she didn’t know when she started dreaming about Stark but hated that most of them involved someone pulling out the arc reactor. She jumped when the door opened and a panicked Tony came running in. His hair was messy and there were noticeable purple marks under his eyes – it was hard to tell whether his lack of sleep was from his work or nightmares.

“Bad dream?” He asked after a few moments, she nodded and watched as his body slumped in relief. She watched as he turned to leave and panic overtook her, she didn’t want to be alone.

“Tony?” She called out softly, she knew he was confused that she’d used his real name but felt relieved when he halted.

“Can you stay?” She watched as he walked over to her and sat in the chair next to her bed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, gently placing a hand over one of her own; she shook her head and felt his hand tighten in reassurance. She went to sleep like that, his presence was comforting. When she woke up in the morning, she realised that Tony had not only stayed, but had also fallen asleep in the chair – she gently used her powers to move him to her bed, she made sure he was comfortable before leaving to fetch breakfast.

* * *

 

They were at a press conference a few weeks later and Wanda was understandably nervous, while she was with the Avengers now, it was still known that she had helped Ultron just last year.

“One more question.” One of the reporters called out, the room quietened and everyone waited for the man to speak.

“How can we trust the Avengers have our safety at heart if they allow a terrorist to walk among them?” Wanda forced herself not to react, surprisingly enough it was Tony who stood up – Wanda turned to him and almost missed his wink.

“Let me ask you a question Mr…” Tony trailed off.

“Bradon.” The man supplied.

“Mr Bradon, let me ask, how many people remember the Merchant of Death?” Everyone froze, even Wanda herself – she hadn’t expected Tony to bring that up.

“How many people have died due to the weapons I created?” Wanda really wished he would stop; she didn’t like him blaming himself for the people who died just because it was his weapons that killed them.

“I can assure you that my body count is much higher than Miss Maximoff’s, yet you all trust me to protect you, that the Iron Man will never turn his back on those who need him.” Wanda could admit she was slightly envious of that.

“So I don’t see why your judgement of the Scarlett Witch should be any different.” The room was in uproar following that statement – surprisingly going silent when Tony raised his hand.

“Miss Maximoff was being manipulated while I was in full control of my actions, yet you trust me over her. Miss Maximoff has proven herself time and time again following her recruitment, and she has worked hard to repair the damage she unwillingly caused.” The room was silent for a few moments before Mr Bradon spoke again.

“I apologise for my lack of consideration.” Wanda waited until they were back at the tower before hugging Tony, it was clear he wasn’t used to the action when he awkwardly raised his arms to return it.

“Thank you.” She watched as he winked before stepping away.

“For what?” She had never felt so thankful for another person’s existence.

* * *

 

It was during their next movie night when Wanda learnt more about Stark, they were watching a movie that was set during one of the wars and Steve made an offhanded comment about Howard Stark. Wanda knew the man was Tony’s father but she didn’t understand why the name made him freeze.

“I need to go.” Tony blurted before hurrying from the room, Wanda turned to see the same confused expressions on the others’ faces.

“What was all that about?” Clint questioned, probably louder than he intended.

“His father died while he was a child.” Bruce supplied, Wanda’s brow furrowed, she didn’t think that was the reason.

“He didn’t seem sad, he looked terrified.” Wanda thought out loud.

“I don’t see why, Howard was a good man.” Steve argued, Wanda didn’t think too much about Rogers’ comment, there were a lot of things they didn’t know about Stark. She left the room, muttering something about needing the toilet. She found Tony leaning heavily against one of the kitchen counters, his knuckles where white from how tightly his hands were fisted.

“Are you okay?” She asked hesitantly and watched as Tony forced himself to relax, he turned to face her and her heart ached at the expression on his face. She motioned to the table and the two sat down, it was quiet for a few moments before he spoke.

“Howard, he, wasn’t the man Steve thought he was.” Wanda thought as much and chose not to comment on the way his voice caught when he said his father’s name.

“He never did anything that was noticeable, knew how to make sure no-one would find out.” Wanda realised after a few seconds what he meant and forced herself not to cry, she wasn’t the one who needed comforting.

“He always said it was best for people to respect and fear you, I thought if I acted like I did he would stop, but he never did.” His voice was steady but she knew the memories were hurting him.

“He kept saying it was for my own good, and I started to believe him. Mom didn’t do anything so I guess she thought the same.” Wanda forced herself not to argue, if she interrupted now it would only cause him to close off.

“Stark men are made of iron, at least, according to him. He would keep doing it, the pain got worse but I knew if I so-much-as whimpered it would only get worse.” And Wanda could easily see it, a younger Tony with bruises littering his body in places that his clothes would easily hide and a man repeating those words to him over-and-over. She wanted more than anything to hold the man in front of her, tell him that his father was wrong.

“I couldn’t go to the police, even if they’d’ve believed me, it would only take Dad handing them a wad of cash for them to forget about everything.” Wanda hated herself for wanting to hurt this man, and knew that if Howard Stark was still alive he wouldn’t be for much longer.

“You’re a good man Tony Stark.” She told him, she wanted to say more but didn’t know where to start, she wasn’t entirely surprised when Tony scoffed.

“Try telling Cap that.” And Wanda knew he was right, Steve adored Howard Stark and would likely accuse Tony of lying if he so much as hinted to anything that happened to him.

“We should head back.” Tony stated while standing up, she watch as he forced his mask back into place and grabbed his arm before he could walk off.

“If you ever need to talk…” She trailed off but Tony understood what she meant and nodded in thanks.

* * *

 

When the ringing in Wanda’s ears quietened she opened her eyes, not surprised when she couldn’t see anything. She hadn’t had any time to get away from the explosion and had ended up trapped in the remains of the building she was evacuating. She startled when a grunt came from above her and watched as the blue lights from the Iron Man visor flickered on.

“Tony?” She murmured, quickly realising that the suit was the only thing keeping the rubble from reaching her.

“Who else would I be?” He laughed softly, it was clear the rubble was hurting him and Wanda wished the others would hurry up.

“Will my powers help?” She heard him grunt out a reply that sounded close to a no.

“That could just cause more rubble to fall.” His voice was tight and Wanda realised that he must have claustrophobia or something very similar. She heard him laugh and raised an eyebrow, knowing that he could see it.

“Sorry it’s just, how did our second date end up with us both trapped?” Wanda felt hysterical laughter build up at the comment, they would likely die and he called it a date. It must’ve been a few hours before they were finally rescued. Wanda watched as Tony kept moving away when the others tried to check him for injuries.

“Tony!” She called out to him; he turned to face her and she sent a smirk in his direction.

“Can our next date not involve either of us buried under rubble?” She could tell he was smiling beneath the mask.

“No promises.” She laughed as he flew off, ignoring the concerned glances the team sent her.

* * *

 

It wasn’t entirely surprising when Steve and Tony had another shouting match; if it could even be called that considering Steve was doing all the yelling and Tony seemed to be trying to get the floor to swallow him.

“You can’t take anything seriously can you?” Wanda could tell Tony was trying not to fight back, she didn’t understand why until she saw what was in his hand, an old photo of Howard Stark and, judging by Tony’s knuckle, he was the one behind the shattered glass.

“I honestly can’t believe you sometimes, Howard would’ve been very disappointed in you.” It was a low blow but it was clearly effective when Tony flinched.

“Believe me I know.” He rasped out, the fact that his voice didn’t hold any of its usual arrogance was enough to make Steve falter. Wanda quickly walked over and gently rubbed Tony’s back with one hand while the other positioned Tony’s head on her shoulder.

“Wanda, this doesn’t concern you.” Steve’s voice took on a caring tone as if that would cover up what he’d just said to Tony.

“Back off Rogers.” She growled, not taking her attention off Tony who was shivering with the effort of holding back his sobs.

“He needs to know.” Wanda murmured, only loud enough for Tony to hear. She felt him nod and sent a few of his memories of Howard to Steve, watching with grim satisfaction as the super-soldier stumbled back at the intensity before fleeing the room. She chose not to mention the tears now staining her shoulder.

* * *

 

Christmas arrived after a few months and Wanda found herself wishing – not for the first time – that her brother could be with her, she heard someone clear their throat behind her and she wasn’t surprised when she saw tony stood there.

“Hey.” He greeted softly, she smiled and motioned for him to join her.

“I couldn’t help but notice that you’d snuck off.” He smiled, making sure she knew he was joking.

“I needed some quiet.” She responded truthfully, happy that Tony didn’t question her further. It was silent for a few moments before she heard him shift. She turned to face him and saw a box in his arms; he motioned for her to open it and waited for her to pick up the first item; it was a black pistol that had the words ‘Scarlett Witch’ engraved neatly on the top, filled in with red.

“I know you have you powers, but there may be a situation in the future where you can’t use them.” That he wanted her to have something else to defend herself with went unsaid. She pulled out the second item and, judging by it’s weight, realised that it was body armour carefully designed to look like normal clothes – she didn’t need him to explain it and was slightly embarrassed that she hadn’t thought about body armour before now.

“There’s one more thing in there.” Tony stated softly, Wanda pulled the final item from the box and felt tears leaking from her eyes at the photo, it was one of her family a few months before the bomb that killed her parents.

“Thank you.” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she wrapped her arms around him. Smiling when she felt him return it.

“It was nothing.” Clearly trying to downplay it, Wanda suddenly regretted not getting him anything.

“You already have.” He smiled, somehow knowing what she was thinking. She didn’t think she would ever understand Tony Stark she thought as she fell asleep that night, but she supposed it didn’t matter.


End file.
